Emiliano Nsue has a mixed bag for Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough moved back into the automatic promotion places in the Championship on Friday night with a narrow 3-2 win at Queens Park Rangers.

Second-half goals from Gaston Ramirez and Ben Gisbon, after Jordan Rhodes's opener was cancelled out by Jamie Mackie, helped Aitor Karanka's side move within two points of leaders Burnley as Boro boosted their Premier League promotion hopes.

It was a mixed night for Middlesbrough on the whole, but perhaps nobody embodied that sense of hotchpotch more than Spanish right-back Emiliano Nsue.

On the face of it, the 26-year-old had a good game: almost 100 touches of the ball, and clocking a passing accuracy of 86% - but did they tell the full story?

Position

Team

Touches

Total Pass

Accurate Pass

Duel Lost

Aerial Lost

Challenge Lost

Interception

Appearances

Mins Played

Nsue

MF

Middlesbrough

95

58

50

4

1

1

5

1

90

In a word, no. Nsue, who arrived at the Riverside as an attacking player, endured some trouble in defence, losing four of his duels - and one aerial duel.

His reading of the game seemed on point, having made five interceptions, but on the whole he seemed to divide the Boro fanbase on his performance tonight.

There is a school of thought which suggests that Ritchie De Laet should be getting the nod ahead of him right-back, though it remains to be seen where Karanka envisages Nsue's long-term position at the club.

Shane Callaghan

Shane is a Dublin-based sports writer who swapped the football pitch for the press box upon learning that he was better with a pen than with a round bit of leather. Prior to joining HITC, Shane enjoyed spells with Sports Mole and Goal.com among others, while he was also club reporter for Irish football club Drogheda United.